Ashikaga School

A school facility established in Ashikaga Manor, Shimotsuke Province (Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture). There are various theories about its founding, including that it was founded by Ono no Takamura in the early Heian period, that it was founded by Ashikaga Yoshikane, who built Ban'on-ji Temple in the early Kamakura period, and that it was opened by Uesugi Norizane in the early Muromachi period, but from existing materials it is difficult to know for certain whether it existed before the Eikyou period (1429-1441). The facility for training in Chinese classics took on the form of a school in both name and reality in the early Eikyou era, when Kanto Kanrei Uesugi Norizane invited the master of I Ching, the priest Kaigen Osho, from Engakuji Temple in Kamakura to serve as the school's principal, and in 1439 (Eikyou 11) donated Song editions of Buddhist scriptures, which were valuable at the time. Later, Noritada followed in his father's footsteps and donated Song editions, resulting in the completion of the famous Ashikaga Song edition of the Five Classics Commentaries and Commentaries. These are "Commentary on the Book of Changes in Zhouyi," "Shangshu Zhengyi," "Commentary on Mao Shi," "Zhengyi in the Book of Rites," and "Commentary on the Zuo Zhuan in the Spring and Autumn Annals." In recent years, a Song dynasty edition of "Book of Tang" donated by Kenjitsu was discovered and donated, and all of these are presumed to be "Kanazawa Bunko editions," and all are designated as national treasures or important cultural properties of the country.

The school focused on I Ching, and also taught Chinese classics and military strategy books. During the reign of the seventh head priest Kyuka (1500-1578), the school reached its peak thanks to the donation and support of Hojo Ujimasa, including the Song edition of Monzen (a national treasure) from the Kanazawa Bunko library. The school continued to operate under the protection of the Tokugawa clan, but in 1872 (Meiji 5), it ceased operations and was taken over by Tochigi Prefecture along with its collection of books. It was returned to Ashikaga Town in 1876, and in 1903 (Meiji 36), the Ashikaga School Ruins Library was opened, where it remains to this day. It is a nationally designated historic site.

[Motoshige Maeda]

"Kawase Kazuma, 'Study of the Ashikaga School' (1948, Kodansha)" ▽ "Yuki Rikuro, 'Kanazawa Library and the Ashikaga School' (1959, Shibundo, Japanese History Paperbacks)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

下野(しもつけ)国足利荘(しょう)（栃木県足利市）に設けられた学校施設。その創設については、平安初期の小野篁(おののたかむら)の創立説、鎌倉初期に鑁阿寺(ばんなじ)を建立した足利義兼(よしかね)の創建説、あるいは室町初期に上杉憲実(のりざね)によって開かれたという説など、諸説あって定説をみないが、現存する資料からは、永享(えいきょう)（1429～1441）以前における明確な存在を知ることはむずかしい。漢学研修のための施設が、名実ともに学校としての形態を整えたのは、永享年間の初期、関東管領(かんれい)上杉憲実が易(えき)学の大家快元和尚(かいげんおしょう)を鎌倉円覚寺(えんがくじ)から招いて庠主(しょうしゅ)（校長）とし、1439年（永享11）には、当時の貴重書であった宋(そう)版の経典を学校に寄進したときであろう。のち、憲忠(のりただ)も父に倣い宋刊本の寄進を行い、ここに有名な足利の宋版『五経註疏(ごきょうちゅうしょ)』がそろった。すなわち『周易註疏(しゅうえきちゅうしょ)』『尚書正義(しょうしょせいぎ)』『毛詩註疏(もうしちゅうしょ)』『礼記正義(らいきせいぎ)』『春秋左伝註疏(しゅんじゅうさでんちゅうしょ)』である。近年、憲実寄進の宋版『唐書(とうじょ)』が発見、寄付されたが、これらはすべて「金沢文庫本」と推定され、いずれも国宝あるいは国の重要文化財として指定されている。

　学校では易学を中心に漢籍類、兵法書などが講ぜられ、第7代庠主九華(きゅうか)（1500―1578）のときには、北条氏政(うじまさ)による金沢文庫本の宋版『文選(もんぜん)』（国宝）の寄進と援助により学校は最盛期を迎えた。その後、徳川氏の保護を得て継続されたが、1872年（明治5）校務を廃し、学校は蔵書とともに栃木県に引き継がれた。1876年足利町に返却、1903年（明治36）足利学校遺蹟(いせき)図書館が開かれ現在に至っている。国指定史跡。

［前田元重］

『川瀬一馬著『足利学校の研究』（1948・講談社）』▽『結城陸郎著『金沢文庫と足利学校』（1959・至文堂・日本歴史新書）』

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